Wireless power transmitter and control method therefor

ABSTRACT

A wireless power transmitting device is provided. The wireless power transmitting device includes a patch antenna, and a transmission/reception processing circuit configured to output a first signal to the patch antenna during a first period, and process a second signal output from the patch antenna during a second period, wherein the patch antenna is configured to transmit a transmission wave using the first signal, and output the second signal to the transmission/reception processing circuit using a reception wave.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of a U.S.Provisional application filed on May 13, 2016 in the U.S. Patent andTrademark Office and assigned Ser. No. 62/336,088, and under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) of a Korean patent application filed on Oct. 10, 2016 in theKorean Intellectual Property Office assigned Ser. No. 10-2016-0130879,the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a wireless power transmitting deviceand a control method. More particularly, the present disclosure relatesto a wireless power transmitting device and method for wirelesslytransmitting power to an electronic device.

BACKGROUND

Portable digital communication devices have become necessary for manypeople. Consumers want to be provided with various high quality servicesat any time and any location. In addition, due to the recent developmentof internet of thing (IoT) technology, various sensors, home appliances,and communication devices exist and are being networked together. Inorder to smoothly operate these various sensors, a wireless powertransmission system is required.

The wireless power transmission includes a magnetic induction scheme, amagnetic resonance scheme, and an electromagnetic wave scheme. Theelectromagnetic wave scheme has advantages in long-distance powertransmission compared to the other schemes.

The electromagnetic wave scheme is mainly used for long-distance powertransmission, and it is important to determine the exact location of apower receiver at a long distance location to transmit power mostefficiently.

The above information is presented as background information only toassist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determinationhas been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the abovemight be applicable as prior art with regard to the present disclosure.

SUMMARY

In order to charge an electronic device to be charged using, forexample, the electromagnetic wave scheme, a radio frequency (RF) wavemust be formed with respect to a plurality of directions, informationrelated to power reception from the electronic device must be receivedand the location of the electronic device must be determined by usingthe information. However, it takes a long time to form an RF wave withrespect to a plurality of directions and to receive power-relatedinformation. Especially, due to harmfulness to the human body, highpower may not be transmitted before detecting the object to be charged.Particularly, when a user holds or wears a small terminal, the locationof the terminal may frequently change.

Aspects of the present disclosure are to address at least theabove-mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at leastthe advantages described below. Accordingly, an aspect of the presentdisclosure is to provide a quick determination of the terminal locationfor effective wireless charging.

Another aspect of the present disclosure may provide a wireless powertransmitting device which can transmit a transmission wave, receive areflected wave formed by the reflection of the transmission wave, andanalyze the same, to quickly determine the location of the electronicdevice, and a control method for the same. In addition, variousembodiments of the present disclosure may provide a wireless powertransmitting device capable of quickly switching the transmission of thetransmission wave and the reception of the reflected wave.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, a wireless powertransmitting device is provided. The wireless power transmitting deviceincludes a patch antenna, and a transmission/reception processingcircuit configured to output a first signal to the patch antenna duringa first period, and process a second signal output from the patchantenna during a second period, wherein the patch antenna is configuredto transmit a transmission wave using the first signal, and output thesecond signal to the transmission/reception processing circuit using areception wave.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, a wireless powertransmitting device is provided. The wireless power transmitting deviceincludes a plurality of patch antennas, and a transmission/receptionprocessing circuit configured to input a first signal to a first part ofthe plurality of patch antennas and process a second signal output fromthe second part of the plurality of patch antennas, wherein the firstpart of the plurality of patch antennas is configured to transmit atransmission wave using the first signal, and wherein the second part ofthe plurality of patch antennas is configured to output the secondsignal to the transmission/reception processing circuit using areception wave.

Accordingly, various embodiments of the present disclosure may provide awireless power transmitting device which can transmit a transmissionwave, receive a reflected wave formed by the reflection of thetransmission wave, and analyze the same, so as to determine the locationof an electronic device, and a control method for the same. In addition,various embodiments of the present disclosure may provide a wirelesspower transmitting device capable of quickly switching the transmissionof a transmission wave and the reception of a reflected wave.Accordingly, an electronic device or an obstacle may be detected. Inaddition, since both the transmission of the transmission wave and thereception of the reflected wave can be performed, the wireless powertransmitting device can receive power from another wireless powertransmitting device and relay the same to enable long-distance wirelesspower transmission.

Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the disclosure willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings,discloses various embodiments of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certainembodiments of the present disclosure will be more apparent from thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a diagram of a wireless power transmission systemaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2A illustrates a block diagram of a wireless power transmittingdevice according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2B illustrates a diagram of a wireless power transmitting deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method for a wireless power transmittingdevice according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a transmission/reception processing circuitaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates a timing diagram for describing the timing of atransmission operation and a reception operation according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6A illustrates a diagram of a transmission wave according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6B illustrates a timing diagram for describing a transmissiontiming and a reception timing according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates a diagram for describing the formation of atransmission wave according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 illustrates a diagram of a patch antenna for transmission and apatch antenna for reception according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a method of a wireless power transmittingdevice according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a method for target detection according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 illustrates a transmission wave and a reception wave accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a method for target detection according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 illustrates a transmission wave and a reception wave accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of a method for an operation change according toan embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of a method for a wireless power transmittingdevice according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 16A, 16B, 16C, and 16D illustrate a change of a patch antenna fortransmission and a patch antenna for reception according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 17A, 17B, and 17C illustrate an arrangement of a patch antenna fortransmission and a patch antenna for reception according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 18 is a flowchart of a method for a wireless power transmittingdevice according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 19 illustrates an arrangement of a patch antenna for transmissionand a patch antenna for reception according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 20 illustrates a power relay operation according to an embodimentof the present disclosure;

FIG. 21 is a block diagram of a wireless power transmitting deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 22 is a circuit diagram of a wireless power transmitting deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIGS. 23A, 23B, and 23C illustrate a patch antenna of a wireless powertransmitting device according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

Throughout the drawings, it should be notes that like references numbersare used to depict the same or similar elements, features, andstructures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings isprovided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of variousembodiments of the present disclosure as defined by the claims and theirequivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in thatunderstanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary.Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize thatvarious changes and modifications of the various embodiments describedherein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of thepresent disclosure. In addition, descriptions of well-known functionsand constructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.

The terms and words used in the following description and claims are notlimited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by theinventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the presentdisclosure. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in theart that the following description of various embodiments of the presentdisclosure is provided for illustration purpose only and not for thepurpose of limiting the present disclosure as defined by the appendedclaims and their equivalents.

It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the”include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.Thus, for example, reference to “a component surface” includes referenceto one or more of such surfaces.

In the description of the drawings, similar reference numerals may beused to designate similar elements. A singular expression may include aplural expression unless they are definitely different in a context. Asused herein, singular forms may include plural forms as well unless thecontext clearly indicates otherwise. The expression “a first”, “asecond”, “the first”, or “the second” used in various embodiments of thepresent disclosure may modify various components regardless of the orderand/or the importance but does not limit the corresponding components.When an element (e.g., first element) is referred to as being“(functionally or communicatively) connected,” or “directly coupled” toanother element (second element), the element may be connected directlyto the another element or connected to the another element through yetanother element (e.g., third element).

The expression “configured to” as used in various embodiments of thepresent disclosure may be interchangeably used with, for example,“suitable for”, “having the capacity to”, “designed to”, “adapted to”,“made to”, or “capable of” in terms of hardware or software, accordingto circumstances. Alternatively, in some situations, the expression“device configured to” may mean that the device, together with otherdevices or components, “is able to”. For example, the phrase “processoradapted (or configured) to perform A, B, and C” may mean a dedicatedprocessor (e.g. embedded processor) only for performing thecorresponding operations or a generic-purpose processor (e.g., centralprocessing unit (CPU) or application processor (AP)) that can performthe corresponding operations by executing one or more software programsstored in a memory device.

A wireless power transmitting device or electronic device according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least oneof, for example, a smart phone, a tablet personal computer (PC), amobile phone, a video phone, an electronic book reader (e-book reader),a desktop PC, a laptop PC, a netbook computer, a workstation, a server,a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable multimedia player (PMP),a MPEG-1 audio layer-3 (MP3) player, a mobile medical device, a camera,and a wearable device. According to various embodiments, the wearabledevice may include at least one of an accessory type (e.g., a watch, aring, a bracelet, an anklet, a necklace, a glasses, a contact lens, or ahead-mounted device (HMD)), a fabric or clothing integrated type (e.g.,an electronic clothing), a body-mounted type (e.g., a skin pad, ortattoo), and a bio-implantable type (e.g., an implantable circuit). Insome embodiments, the wireless power transmitting device or electronicdevice may include at least one of, for example, a television, a digitalvideo disk (DVD) player, an audio, a refrigerator, an air conditioner, avacuum cleaner, an oven, a microwave oven, a washing machine, an aircleaner, a set-top box, a home automation control panel, a securitycontrol panel, a game console, an electronic dictionary, an electronickey, a camcorder, and an electronic photo frame.

In other embodiments, the wireless power transmitting device orelectronic device may include at least one of various medical devices(e.g., various portable medical measuring devices (a blood glucosemonitoring device, a heart rate monitoring device, a blood pressuremeasuring device, a body temperature measuring device, etc.), a magneticresonance angiography (MRA), a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), acomputed tomography (CT) machine, and an ultrasonic machine), anavigation device, a global positioning system (GPS) receiver, an eventdata recorder (EDR), a flight data recorder (FDR), a VehicleInfotainment Device, an electronic device for a ship (e.g., a navigationdevice for a ship, and a gyro-compass), avionics, security devices, anautomotive head unit, a robot for home or industry, an automaticteller's machine (ATM) in banks, point of sales (POS) in a shop, orinternet device of things (e.g., a light bulb, various sensors, electricor gas meter, a sprinkler device, a fire alarm, a thermostat, astreetlamp, a toaster, a sporting goods, a hot water tank, a heater, aboiler, etc.). According to some embodiments, the wireless powertransmitting device or electronic device may include at least one of apart of furniture or a building/structure, an electronic board, anelectronic signature receiving device, a projector, and various types ofmeasuring instruments (e.g., a water meter, an electric meter, a gasmeter, a radio wave meter, and the like). In various embodiments, thewireless power transmitting device or electronic device may be flexible,or may be a combination of one or more of the aforementioned variousdevices. The wireless power transmitting device or electronic deviceaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure is not limited to theabove described devices. As used herein, the term “user” may indicate aperson who uses an electronic device or a device (e.g., an artificialintelligence electronic device) that uses a wireless power transmittingdevice or electronic device.

FIG. 1 illustrates a diagram of a wireless power transmission systemaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1, the wireless power transmitting device 100 maywirelessly transmit power to at least one of electronic devices 150 and160. In various embodiments of the present disclosure, the wirelesspower transmitting device 100 may include a plurality of patch antennas111 to 126. The patch antennas 111 to 126 are not limited thereto, aslong as each of the patch antennas 111 to 126 is capable of generatingan RF wave. At least one of the amplitude and phase of the RF wavegenerated by the patch antennas 111 to 126 may be controlled by thewireless power transmitting device 100. For convenience of description,the RF wave generated by each of the patch antennas 111 to 126 isreferred to as a sub-RF wave.

In various embodiments of the present disclosure, the wireless powertransmitting device 100 may control at least one of the amplitude andphase of each of the sub-RF waves generated by the patch antennas 111 to126. Meanwhile, the sub-RF waves may interfere with each other. Forexample, at one point, the sub-RF waves may constructively interferewith each other, and at another point, the sub-RF waves maydestructively interfere with each other. The wireless power transmittingdevice 100 may control at least one of the amplitude and phase of eachof the sub-RF waves generated by the patch antennas 111 to 126 so thatthe sub-RF waves can constructively interfere with each other at a firstpoint (x1, y1, z1).

For example, the wireless power transmitting device 100 may determinethat the electronic device 150 is located at the first point (x1, y1,z1). The first point electronic device 150 may be, for example, alocation of an antenna for receiving power of the electronic device 150.The process of determining the location of the electronic device 150 bythe wireless power transmitting device 100 will be described in moredetail. In order to wirelessly receive power at the electronic device150 with high transmission efficiency, the sub-RF waves shouldconstructively interfere at the first point (x1, y1, z1). Accordingly,the wireless power transmitting device 100 may control the patchantennas 111 to 126 so that the sub-RF wave may constructively interferewith each other. Here, controlling of the patch antennas 111 to 126 mayindicate controlling of the magnitude of a signal input to the patchantennas 111 to 126 or controlling of the phase (or delay) of the signalinput to the patch antennas 111 to 126. In addition, the type ofbeam-forming used in the present disclosure is not limited thereto. AnRF wave formed by beam-forming may also be referred to as pockets ofenergy.

Accordingly, an RF wave 130 formed by the sub-RF waves may have themaximum amplitude at the first point (x1, y1, z1) so that the electronicdevice 150 may receive wireless power with high transmission efficiency.Meanwhile, the wireless power transmitting device 100 may determine thatthe electronic device 160 is located at a second point (x2, y2, z2). Toprovide wireless power to charge the electronic device 160, the wirelesspower transmitting device 100 may control the patch antennas 111 to 126such that the sub-RF waves constructively interfere with each other atthe second point (x2, y2, z2). Accordingly, an RF wave 131 formed fromthe sub-RF waves may have the maximum amplitude at the second point (x2,y2, z2) and the electronic device 160 may receive wireless power withhigh transmission efficiency.

As described above, the wireless power transmitting device 100 maydetermine the locations of the electronic devices 150 and 160, andenable sub-RF waves to constructively interfere with each other at thedetermined locations to perform wireless charging with high transmissionefficiency. On the other hand, the wireless power transmitting device100 enables wireless charging with high transmission efficiency only bydetermining the location of the electronic devices150 and 160.

FIG. 2A illustrates a block diagram of a wireless power transmittingdevice according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 2A, the wireless power transmitting device may includean antenna array 210, a transmission/reception processing circuit 220, apower source 230, and a processor 240.

The antenna array 210 may form an RF wave. The antenna array 210 mayinclude a plurality of patch antennas, each of which may form a sub-RFwave. The power output from the power source 230 may be controlled bythe transmission/reception processing circuit 220 in order to form an RFwave. The transmission/reception processing circuit 220 may include aplurality of elements for controlling power, which are connected to eachof a plurality of patch antennas included in the antenna array 210. Theplurality of elements may include, for example, a phase shifter foradjusting the phase of an electrical signal input into the patchantenna. The phase shifter is not limited thereto as long as the phaseshifter is an element capable of changing the phase of the inputelectrical signal and outputting the same, and for example, HMC642 orHMC1113, or the like may be used. In another example, an amplifier maybe capable of controlling the amplitude of the received input electricalsignal. The amplifier may be implemented as, for example, a gain blockamplifier (GBA) or the like. Here, controlling of the delay of a signalindicates that a time point at which oscillation occurs in a patchantenna is controlled to control the phase of the signal. Each of thepatch antennas of the antenna array 210 may form a sub-RF wave using thereceived input signal. That is, the processor 240 may control thetransmission/reception processing circuit 220 such that the sub-RF wavesconstructively interfere with each other at a particular point.Accordingly, the sub-RF waves may constructively interfere with eachother at a particular point, and thus the wireless power transmittingdevice may perform power transmission to a particular point. Forconvenience of description, an RF wave formed from the antenna array 210is referred to as a transmission wave.

Meanwhile, a patch antenna of the antenna array 210 may output a signalbased on the RF wave. The patch antenna may form a RF wave using thereceived input electrical signal, and may receive a RF wave in thesurroundings, convert the RF wave into an electrical signal, and outputthe same. That is, a patch antenna may form an RF wave based on thereceived input signal, or may output a signal based on the RF wave. Forexample, if the magnitude of an RF wave applied to the patch antennachanges, the amplitude of the signal output from the patch antenna mayalso change. Accordingly, an electrical signal corresponding to the RFwave may be output from the patch antenna. In various embodiments of thepresent disclosure, the RF wave output from the antenna array 210 may bereflected by an electronic device or an obstacle, and then be receivedat the patch antenna. An object in the surroundings, such as theelectronic device or the obstacle, will be referred to as a target. Forconvenience of description, the RF wave reflected by the electronicdevice or the obstacle and received by the antenna array 210 will bereferred to as a reflected wave or a reception wave. Alternatively, invarious embodiments of the present disclosure, another wireless powertransmitting device may form an RF wave, and the RF wave in this casewill be referred to as the reception wave.

The transmission/reception processing circuit 220 may process a signaloutput from the antenna array 210 and output the same to the processor240. For example, the transmission/reception processing circuit 220 mayperform at least one of filtering, amplification, phase and amplitudecontrol of the signal output from the patch antenna, and the same willbe described in more detail with reference to FIG. 4. The processor 240may detect the electronic device or the obstacle using the signalprocessed by the transmission/reception processing circuit 220. Theprocessor 240 may determine the direction or location in which theelectronic device or the obstacle is located and additionally operateusing the determined information. For example, the wireless powertransmitting device may determine at least one of the location anddirection of a target, using a difference in time when a reflected waveis received by each of a plurality of patch antennas or a phasedifference of the respective reflected waves received by the pluralityof patch antennas. Meanwhile, the processor 240 may control entireoperations of the wireless power transmitting device and an operation ofhardware included in the wireless power transmitting device.

FIG. 2B illustrates a diagram of a wireless power transmitting deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 2B, an oscillator 235 may provide a signal of an ACwaveform to a splitter 231. The splitter 231 may split the receivedsignal by the number of the patch antennas 211 to 214. The splitter 231may transmit each of the split signals to each of mixers 251 to 254.Each of the signals from the splitter 231 may be provided to each oftransmission/reception processing circuits 221 to 224 through each ofthe mixers 251 to 254.

The transmission/reception processing circuits 221 to 224 may processthe received signals and provide the same to the patch antennas 211 to214, respectively. In various embodiments of the present disclosure, thetransmission/reception processing circuits 221 to 224 may control thephase of each of the received signals, i.e., delay each of the signals.Alternatively, the transmission/reception processing circuits 221 to 224may control the amplitudes of the received signals. Each of thetransmission/reception processing circuits 221 to 224 may control atleast one of the phase and the amplitude of a signal according to thecontrol of the processor 240, and the processor 240 may control each ofthe transmission/reception processing circuits 221 to 224 so as tocontrol at least one of the phase and amplitude of the signal andperform beam-forming at a particular point. More specifically, thedegree of phase control may be different, which is controlled by each ofthe transmission/reception processing circuits 221 to 224, andaccordingly, a time point at which a sub-RF wave is oscillated in eachof the patch antennas 211 to 214, or the phase of the oscillating sub-RFwaves may be differently controlled, so that beam-forming for aparticular point or a particular direction may be formed.

On the other hand, the processor 240 may further provide additionalinformation, and the additional information may be mixed with a signalfrom the splitter 231 by each of the mixers 251 to 254. The additionalinformation may be converted into an analog form by analog-to-digitalconverters (ADC) 261, 263, 265, and 267 and then provided to each of themixers 251 to 254. The mixers 251 to 254 may modulate a signal from theoscillator 235 and output the same to the transmission/receptionprocessing circuits 221 to 224. Alternatively, the mixers 251 to 254 maydemodulate signals output from the transmission/reception processingcircuits 221 to 224 and output the same to the ADCs 262, 264, 266 and268.

Each of the patch antennas 211 to 214 may form sub-RF waves, usingsignals provided from each of the transmission/reception processingcircuits 221 to 224. According to the above description, an RF wavewhich sub-RF waves oscillated from the patch antennas 211 to 214 areinterfered, i.e., a transmission wave 291 may be formed. Thetransmission wave 291 may be formed during a first period. That is, theoscillator 235 may provide a signal to the splitter 231 during the firstperiod, and each of the transmission/reception processing circuits 221to 224 may process the received signal to form the transmission wave291, and each of the patch antennas 211 to 214 may form sub-RF wavesusing the received signal. Accordingly, the patch antennas 211 to 214may form sub-RF waves using signals received during the first period.

The transmission wave 291 may progress toward a target 290, and areflected wave 292 may be generated based on a reflection by the target290. The reflected wave 292 may progress toward the patch antennas 211to 214. The patch antennas 211 to 214 may receive the reflected wave 292during a second period. That is, each of the patch antennas 211 to 214may output an electrical signal to each of the transmission/receptionprocessing circuits 221 to 224, using the received reflected wave 292.

Each of the transmission/reception processing circuits 221 to 224 mayprocess the received input electrical signal and provide the same to theADCs 262, 264, 266 and 268. For example, each of thetransmission/reception processing circuits 221 to 224 may control atleast one of the amplitude and phase of the received input electricalsignal and provide the same to the ADCs 262, 264, 266 and 268. Theprocessor 240 may control to receive a reflected wave from a particulardirection, and accordingly, each of the transmission/receptionprocessing circuits 221 to 224 may delay the received input electricalsignal according to the particular direction, i.e., control the phase ofthe electrical signal. More specifically, the processor 240 maydetermine the approximate position of the target 290 and attempt a moreaccurate measurement of the reflected wave 292 generated from thecorresponding position. In this case, the processor 240 may determine adegree of phase control of each of the signals for forming atransmission wave which performs beamforming at the location of thetarget 290. The processor 240 may control the phase of the electricalsignal output from each of the patch antennas 211 to 214 based on thereflected wave 292, to the degree of phase control for forming thetransmission wave. Accordingly, the processor 240 may more accuratelymeasure a signal generated from a particular direction, i.e., thereflected wave 292. The ADCs 262, 264, 266, 268 may convert the receivedprocessed signal into a digital signal and provide the same to theprocessor 240, and the processor 240 may analyze the converted signal toanalyze a characteristic of the reflected wave 292. The processor 240may determine at least one of whether the target 290 exists, the type ofthe target 290, the location of the target 290, and the direction inwhich the target 290 is located, based on the result of analysis of thereflected wave 292. The wireless power transmitting device may performadditional operations according to the result of determination.

As described above, the wireless power transmitting device may form thetransmission wave 291 during a first period, and receive and analyze thereflected wave 292 during a second period. Accordingly, target-relatedinformation, such as whether the target 290 exists, the location, type,and direction of the target 290, or the like may be determined by onlythe patch antennas 211 to 214 without any other additional device.

Further, the wireless power transmitting device may control part of thepatch antennas 211 to 214 to form a transmission wave, and controlanother part of patch antennas to receive a reception wave. In anotherembodiment, the wireless power transmitting device may control all ofthe patch antennas 211 to 214 to form the transmission wave during thefirst period, and control all of the patch antennas 211 to 214 toreceive the reception wave during the second period.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method for a wireless power transmittingdevice according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 3, in operation 310 the wireless power transmittingdevice may perform control to transmit a transmission wave, which is anRF wave, to a target during a first period. The wireless powertransmitting device may control the phase and amplitude of the signalthat is received by the transmission/reception processing circuit, inputfrom a power source during a first period, and may provide the same tothe patch antenna. The patch antenna may form a RF wave to transmit thetransmission wave during the first period.

In operation 320, the wireless power transmitting device may receive areflected wave (i.e., a reception wave) during a second period. To moreaccurately measure an RF wave oscillated from a particular direction,the wireless power transmitting device may control at least one of thephase and amplitude of the signal output using thetransmission/reception processing circuit during a second period andprovide the same to a processor. During the second period, the processormay determine at least one of whether a target exists, the type of thetarget, the location of the target, and the direction in which thetarget is located, based on the received signal. More specifically, theprocessor may determine the approximate location of the target andattempt to more accurately measurement of a reflected wave generatedfrom the corresponding location. In this case, the processor maydetermine at least one of the degree of phase control and the degree ofamplitude control of each of the signals for forming a transmissionwave, which perform beamforming at the location of the target. Theprocessor may control electrical signals that are output from the patchantennas based on at least one of the determined degree of phase controland the degree of amplitude control to more accurately measure a signalgenerated from a particular direction, that is, the reflected wave.

In operation 330, the wireless power transmitting device may operatebased on the analysis result of the reflected wave, i.e., the receptionwave. For example, the wireless power transmitting device may operatebased on at least one of the presence or absence of a determined target,the type of the target, the location of the target, and the direction inwhich the target is located. For example, when the target is detected,the wireless power transmitting device may determine the type of thetarget or may perform wireless charging. When the target is notdetected, the wireless power transmitting device may repeat operation310 and operation 320 to determine whether the target exists. Forexample, when the target is the human body, the wireless powertransmitting device may output a warning. The wireless powertransmitting device may also determine the shape of a target based onthe analysis result of a reception wave, and determine the type of thetarget by comparing the shape of the target with the previously storedcorrespondence relationship between the shape and type. When the targetis the human body, the wireless power transmitting device may output awarning message. In addition, the wireless power transmitting device maynot form an RF wave to the corresponding direction. When the target is arechargeable electronic device, the wireless power transmitting devicemay perform wireless charging. When the target is an obstacle, thewireless power transmitting device may repeatedly perform operation 310and operation 320 without performing wireless charging to determinewhether the target exists. When at least one of a location of the targetand a direction of the target is detected, the wireless powertransmitting device may transmit the wireless power to the location ofthe target and the direction in which the target is located to performcharging.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a transmission/reception processing circuitaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 4, the transmission/reception processing circuit mayinclude a switch 401 capable of switching between a first path throughwhich a transmission signal can be received and a second path throughwhich a reception signal can be output. During a first period, i.e.during which the transmission wave is formed, the switch 401 may connecta transmission signal input terminal to a fixed attenuator 403. Theswitch 401 may output, for example, a signal output from a power sourceto the fixed attenuator 403. The fixed attenuator 403 may attenuate theamplitude of the received input signal to a fixed magnitude, and outputthe same to the amplifier 405. The amplifier 405 may amplify thereceived signal and output the same to a switch 407. The switch 407 maybe connected to a variable attenuator 409 during a first period, and maybe connected to an amplifier 429 during a second period. During thefirst period, the signal output from the amplifier 405 may betransmitted to the variable attenuator 409. The amplifier 405 may beimplemented as a GBA.

The variable attenuator 409 may attenuate the amplitude to a magnitudedetermined by the processor or the like. The processor may determine theamplitude of a signal corresponding to each of a plurality of patchantennas to perform beamforming, and output a control signal forcontrolling the amplitude to the variable attenuator 409. In this case,the degree of amplitude attenuation of the signal input to each patchantenna may be different to perform beamforming. The variable attenuator409 may attenuate the amplitude of the received signal according to thecontrol signal, and output the same. The processor 240 may set thedegree of the amplitude attenuation of each of the variable attenuatorsto each be different. The amplifier 411 may amplify a signal output fromthe variable attenuator 409, and output the same to the phase shifter413. The amplifier 411 may be implemented as a GBA.

The phase shifter 413 may perform shifting to the phase determined bythe processor or the like. For example, the phase shifter 413 may apply,to the input signal, a delay that is determined by the processor 240 orthe like, and then output the same. The number of phase shifters andpatch antennas may vary and the number is not limited thereto. The phaseshifter may be implemented as, for example, an HMC642 phase shifter orHMC1113 phase shifter, and the like. The processor may determine thephase of a signal corresponding to each of the plurality of patchantennas or the delay to be applied to the signal, and output a controlsignal for the phase control to the phase shifter 413, to performbeamforming

The phase shifter 413 may control the phase of the received signalaccording to the control signal, and output the same. The processor 240may differently set the degree of the amplitude attenuation of each ofthe phase shifters of the transmission/reception processing circuit. Thesignal for which the phase is controlled may be output to a switch 415.In various embodiments of the present disclosure, the wireless powertransmitting device may perform beamforming by controlling only one ofthe phase and amplitude of the signal, and, at this time, only one ofthe variable attenuator 409 and the phase shifter 413 may be included inthe transmission/reception processing circuit.

The switch 415 may connect the phase shifter 413 to an amplifier 417during a first period, i.e., during the transmission operation. Theamplifier 417 and amplifier 419 may amplify a signal that is output fromthe phase shifter 413, and output the same to the circulator 421. Theamplifier 417 may be implemented as a drive amplifier (DA), and theamplifier 419 may be implemented as a high power amplifier (HPA). Thecirculator 421 may selectively connect an input terminal and an outputterminal of the patch antenna. For example, during the first period, thecirculator 421 may connect the amplifier 419 to the input terminal ofthe patch antenna so that a signal from the amplifier 419 may beprovided to the patch antenna. During this time, a connection with theoutput terminal of the patch antenna may be released. The patch antennamay form a sub-RF wave based on an input signal. As described above, atleast one of the amplitude and phase of the signal input to the patchantenna may be controlled by at least one of the variable attenuator 409and the phase shifter 413. Accordingly, at least one of the amplitudeand phase of the sub-RF wave formed in the patch antenna may becontrolled. The processor may control at least one of the variableattenuator 409 and the phase shifter 413 such that sub-RF waves formedin the plurality of patch antennas constructively interfere with eachother at a particular point. As described above, during a first period,that is, in the transmission operation, an RF wave, that is, thebeamforming of the transmission wave may be performed.

During a second period, i.e., when receiving a reception wave, thecirculator 421 may connect the output terminal of the patch antenna to alimiter 423. During the second period, for example, the reflected wavemay be received by the patch antenna, and the patch antenna may output asignal corresponding to the received reflected wave to the limiter 423.During this time, the output terminal of the patch antenna may beconnected to the limiter 423, and connection with the input terminal ofthe patch antenna may be released. When a reflected wave having a largemagnitude is suddenly received by the patch antenna, the limiter 423 mayattenuate the magnitude so that the signal having a large magnitude,output from the patch antenna, does not destroy other hardware. Morespecifically, an overvoltage protection circuit 427 may be connected toa switch 425. The switch 425 may be implemented as a single pole singlethrow (SPST) switch. When the amplitude of a signal passed through thelimiter 423 exceeds a predetermined threshold value, the switch 425 mayconnect the overvoltage protection circuit to the limiter 423 to causethe signal from the limiter 423 to flow to the ground. When theamplitude of the signal is less than or equal to a predeterminedthreshold value, the switch 425 may connect the limiter 423 to theamplifier 429, so that a signal from the limiter 423 may be output tothe amplifier 429. The amplifier 429 may be implemented as a low noiseamplifier (LNA).

Meanwhile, during the second period, the switch 407 may connect theamplifier 429 to the variable attenuator 409. In order to moreaccurately measure a reception wave from a particular direction, atleast one of the variable attenuator 409 and the phase shifter 413 maycontrol at least one of the amplitude and phase of the received inputsignal during the second period. Control information of at least one ofthe variable attenuator 409 and the phase shifter 413 may be determinedto receive an RF wave oscillated from a particular point and transmitthe control signal. During a second period, the switch 415 may connectthe phase shifter 413 to the fixed attenuator 431. The fixed attenuator431 may attenuate the received input signal and output the same to theswitch 401. During a second period, the switch 401 may connect the fixedattenuator 431 to a received signal output terminal so that a signalcorresponding to an RF wave received by the patch antenna may beprovided to the processor. The switch 401,407, and 415 may beimplemented as a single pole double throw (SPDT) switch.

Meanwhile, depending on the implementation, at least one of the fixedattenuators 403 and 431 and the amplifiers 405 and 411 may not beincluded in the transmission/reception processing circuit.

As described above, the variable attenuator 409, the amplifier 411, andthe phase shifter 413 may be used for transmission and reception,thereby reducing the total area of the transmission/reception processingcircuit 220.

FIG. 5 illustrates a timing diagram for describing the timing of atransmission operation and a reception operation according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 5, during a first period 501, a third period 502, anda fifth period 503, the wireless power transmitting device may transmita transmission wave. Accordingly, the wireless power transmitting devicemay connect a power source to the patch antenna, and controltransmission of the transmission wave from the patch antenna to atarget. Meanwhile, during a second period 511 and a fourth period 512,the wireless power transmitting device may receive a reception wave.Accordingly, the wireless power transmitting device may disconnect thepower source from the patch antenna and process an electrical signaloutput from the patch antenna to analyze the reflected wave or thereception wave. In various embodiments of the present disclosure,transmission periods 501, 502, and 503 may be set relatively long ascompared to reception periods 511 and 512. Accordingly, while performingwireless charging, the wireless power transmitting device may operate soas to transmit the transmission wave for a relatively long period,thereby enabling stable wireless charging.

Meanwhile, in another embodiment of the present disclosure, the wirelesspower transmitting device may control a portion of patch antennas 211 to214 to transmit the transmission wave, and control the remaining patchantennas 211 to 214 to receive the reception wave. That is, the wirelesspower transmitting device may perform formation of the transmission waveand reception of the reception wave at the same time.

FIG. 6A illustrates a diagram of a transmission wave according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 6A, a plurality of patch antennas 101 to 116 of thewireless power transmitting device may form a transmission wave 601 in afirst direction during a first period t1. For example, as in FIG. 6B,the wireless power transmitting device may apply a signal 611 forforming the transmission wave 601 to a patch antenna during the firstperiod t1. During a second period t2, the wireless power transmittingdevice may receive a reflected wave or a reception wave. The wirelesspower transmitting device may process electrical signals output fromeach or some of the plurality of patch antennas 101 to 116 to analyzethe reflected wave or the reception wave.

FIG. 6B illustrates a timing diagram for describing a transmissiontiming and a reception timing according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

Referring to FIG. 6B, the wireless power transmitting device may processa signal 621 that is output from the patch antenna during a secondperiod t2 and analyze the same. Meanwhile, during a third period t3, theplurality of patch antennas 101 to 116 may form a transmission wave 602in a second direction. The wireless power transmitting device maycontrol at least one of the amplitude and phase of a signal input toeach of the plurality of patch antennas 101 to 116 to change a directionthat the transmission wave is transmitted. In addition, during a fourthperiod t4, the wireless power transmitting device may receive thereception wave. Further, during a fifth period t5 and a seventh periodt7, the wireless power transmitting device may transmit the transmissionwave to transmit a transmission wave 603 in a third direction and atransmission wave 604 in a fourth direction. That is, the wireless powertransmitting device may apply the signals 611, 612, 613, 614 to thepatch antennas 101 to 116 to form the transmission waves in differentdirections in time and, in response to reflected waves correspondingthereto, the wireless power transmitting device may receive and analyzesignals 621, 622, 623, 624 output from the patch antennas 101 to 116.Accordingly, the wireless power transmitting device may determinewhether to arrange the target with respect to a plurality of directions.

FIG. 7 illustrates a diagram for describing the formation of atransmission wave according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 7, the wireless power transmitting device may form atransmission wave 701 in a first direction using a first group of patchantennas formed by patch antenna 101, patch antenna 105, patch antenna109, and patch antenna 113. The wireless power transmitting device mayinput signals to a second group of patch antennas (i.e., patch antenna102, patch antenna 106, patch antenna 110, and patch antenna 114), athird group of patch antennas (i.e., patch antenna 103, patch antenna107, patch antenna 111, and patch antenna 115), and a fourth group ofpatch antennas (i.e., patch antenna 104, patch antenna 108, patchantenna 112, and patch antenna 116) to transmit a transmission wave 701in a first direction and simultaneously transmit transmission waves 702,703, and 704 in a second direction, in a third direction, and in afourth direction, respectively. The wireless power transmitting devicemay generate transmission waves 701 to 704 in a plurality of directionsto detect the target at a relatively short distance. Meanwhile, whensimultaneously generating the plurality of transmission waves 701 to704, the wireless power transmitting device may include identificationinformation in each of the transmission waves 701 to 704. Since thewireless power transmitting device may identify identificationinformation from the reflected wave, it can be determined to whichtransmission wave the received reflected wave corresponds.

The wireless power transmitting device according to various embodimentsof the present disclosure may adaptively transmit in differentdirections over time according to FIG. 6 or may simultaneously transmittransmission waves in a plurality of directions according to FIG. 7. Forexample, the wireless power transmitting device may operate in a methodaccording to FIG. 7 in the operation of detecting a target in arelatively short distance, and may operate in a method according to FIG.6A in the operation of detecting the target in a relatively longdistance.

FIG. 8 illustrates a diagram of a patch antenna for transmission and apatch antenna for reception according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

Referring to FIG. 8, the wireless power transmitting device may includea plurality of patch antennas. The wireless power transmitting devicemay determine that some patch antennas 801 to 809 of the plurality ofpatch antennas receive a reception wave, and determine that theremaining patch antennas transmit a transmission wave. The wirelesspower transmitting device may set the number of patch antennas 801 to809, which will be operated for receiving the reception wave, to berelatively smaller than the number of patch antennas for transmittingthe transmission wave. In FIG. 8, an antenna indicated by hatches is forreceiving the reception wave, and an antenna indicated by stipples arefor transmitting the transmission wave. For example, as shown in FIG. 8,the number of patch antennas for transmitting the transmission wave maybe set to be relatively large while performing wireless charging by thewireless power transmitting device. Meanwhile, while detecting anaccurate location of a target by the wireless power transmitting device,the number of patch antennas for receiving the reception wave may beincreased. That is, the number of patch antennas for transmitting thetransmission wave and the number of patch antennas for receiving thereception wave may be changed according to the operation of the wirelesspower transmitting device.

As the number of patch antennas for receiving the reception waveincreases, the resolution may increase. That is, when the number ofpatch antennas used for receiving the reception wave of the wirelesspower transmitting device is relatively large, at least one of a moreaccurate location and direction of the target can be determined.Accordingly, the wireless power transmitting device may set a relativelysmall number of patch antennas used for receiving the reception wave fordetermining whether the target exists, and set a relatively large numberof patch antennas used for determining at least one of the location anddirection of the target. In addition, when detecting the shape of thetarget, the wireless power transmitting device may further increase thenumber of patch antennas used for receiving the reception wave.

In various embodiments of the present disclosure, the wireless powertransmitting device may operate to oscillate the transmission wave inthe remaining patch antennas except for some of patch antennas 801 to809 during a first period. In addition, the wireless power transmittingdevice may process reflected waves that are received by some of thepatch antennas 801 to 809 during a second period, and operate accordingto the result of processing. That is, the wireless power transmittingdevice may operate such that the transmission operation and thereception operation do not overlap each other in time.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the wireless powertransmitting device may operate such that reflected waves that arereceived by some of the patch antennas 801 to 809 are processed whileoscillating the transmission wave from the remaining patch antennas, andoperate according to the result of processing. That is, the wirelesspower transmitting device may operate such that the transmissionoperation and the reception operation overlap each other. In anotherembodiment, a wireless power transmitting device may perform controlsuch that some patch antennas 801 to 809 receive an external RF waveonly for a particular period of time and output an electrical signal,and the remaining patch antennas continuously transmit an RF wave.

In the embodiment of FIG. 8, a patch antenna for transmission and apatch antenna for reception are distinguished from each other and maysubstantially operate at the same time. Meanwhile, in variousembodiments of the present disclosure, the wireless power transmittingdevice may operate a patch antenna for transmission and a patch antennafor reception according to the time division scheme. That is, during aperiod for transmitting the transmission wave, the wireless powertransmitting device may control the determined patch antenna fortransmission to form the RF wave, and during a period for receiving thereception wave, the wireless power transmitting device may process an RFwave input to the patch antenna to analyze the reception wave. In thiscase, the patch antenna for transmission and the patch antenna forreception may be different as shown in FIG. 8, but in variousembodiments, at least some of the patch antennas may operate as thepatch antenna for transmission or the patch antenna for receptionaccording to time.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a method of a wireless power transmittingdevice according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 9, in operation 910 the wireless power transmittingdevice may transmit a transmission wave during a first period. Inoperation 920, the wireless power transmitting device may receive areflected wave during a second period. Meanwhile, in various embodimentsof the present disclosure, the wireless power transmitting device mayoperate some of the patch antennas to transmit the transmission wave andoperate some of the patch antennas to receive a reception wave, so thattransmission of the transmission wave and reception of the reflectedwave may be performed at substantially the same time.

In operation 930, the wireless power transmitting device may analyze thereflected wave to determine whether a target is detected. Aconfiguration for determining whether the target is detected will bedescribed in more detail with reference to FIGS. 10 to 13.

In operation 940, the wireless power transmitting device may transmitpower to the location of the target. In various embodiments of thepresent disclosure, the wireless power transmitting device may analyzethe reflected wave to determine at least one of the location anddirection of the target. In operation 950, the wireless powertransmitting device may determine whether a communication signal forperforming wireless charging is received from the target. When it isdetermined that the target is an electronic device capable of performingwireless charging, the communication signal may be transmitted to thewireless power transmitting device according to a predeterminedprocedure. On the other hand, when the target is an obstacle, such asthe human body or a metal, which cannot perform wireless charging, thecommunication signal may not be transmitted.

Accordingly, when the communication signal is not received, in operation960, the wireless power transmitting device may determine that thetarget is the obstacle. In addition, when the communication signal isreceived, in operation 970, the wireless power transmitting device maydetermine that the target is an object to be charged. When it isdetermined that the target is determined to be an object to be charged,in operation 980, the wireless power transmitting device may wirelesslytransmit power to the object to be charged.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a method for target detection according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. The embodiment of FIG. 10 will bedescribed in more detail with reference to FIG. 11.

FIG. 11 illustrates a transmission wave and a reception wave accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 10 and 11, in operation 1010 the wireless powertransmitting device may transmit a transmission wave 1101 during a firstperiod. In operation 1020, the wireless power transmitting device mayreceive a reflected wave during a second period. As described above, thewireless power transmitting device may substantially performtransmitting of the transmission wave 1101 and receiving of thereflected wave 1102 at the same time. Referring to FIG. 11, only astructure 1110, such as a wall, is located around the wireless powertransmitting device during the process of transmitting the transmissionwave 1101 and receiving the reflected wave 1102. The transmission wave1101 may be reflected by the structure 1110, and accordingly thereflected wave 1102 may be formed.

In operation 1030, the wireless power transmitting device may transmit atransmission wave 1111 during a third period, and receive a reflectedwave 1112 during a fourth period in operation 1040. Referring to FIG.11, a electronic device 150 appears near the wireless power transmittingdevice. The transmission wave 1111 may be reflected by the electronicdevice 150, and accordingly a reflected wave 1112 by the electronicdevice 150 may be formed. The reflected wave 1112 may be different fromthe reflected wave 1102.

In operation 1050, the wireless power transmitting device may analyzethe reflected wave 1112 and determine whether the reflected wave 1102 isdifferent from the result of analysis of the reflected wave 1112. Asdescribed above, the reflected wave 1112 may be different from thereflected wave 1102, so that the wireless power transmitting device maydetermine that a target is located in the direction in which thetransmission waves 1101 and 1111 are formed. In operation 1060, thewireless power transmitting device may determine that the target isdetected. That is, the wireless power transmitting device according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure may determine that, if theresult of analysis of the reflected wave is different from the previousresult, the target is detected in the corresponding direction.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a method for target detection according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 13 illustrates a transmission wave and a reception wave accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 12 and 13, in operation 1210, the wireless powertransmitting device may transmit a transmission wave 1301 during a firstperiod. In operation 1220, the wireless power transmitting device mayactivate a patch antenna for reception during a second period. That is,the wireless power transmitting device may provide a signal output fromat least some of a plurality of patch antennas to atransmission/reception processing circuit. Meanwhile, as describedabove, the wireless power transmitting device may substantially performtransmitting of the transmission wave 1301 and activating of the patchantenna for reception at the same time.

In operation 1230, the wireless power transmitting device may determinewhether a reflected wave is detected during a second period. Forexample, referring to FIG. 13, since a reflected wave is not formed oris very weak when there is no target nearby, the magnitude of a signaloutput from a patch antenna for reception may be less than apredetermined threshold value. When the electronic device 150 is locatednearby, a reflected wave 1302 may be formed. Accordingly, the magnitudeof a signal output from the patch antenna for reception may be greaterthan or equal to a predetermined threshold value and, in operation 1240,the wireless power transmitting device may determine that the target isdetected in the surroundings.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of a method for an operation change according toan embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 14, in operation 1410 when it is determined that afirst operation is to be performed, the wireless power transmittingdevice may determine a patch antenna for transmission and a patchantenna for reception among the plurality of patch antennas. Inoperation 1420, the wireless power transmitting device may transmit thetransmission wave using the transmission patch antennas, and receive areception wave or a reflected wave using the reception patch antennas.

In operation 1430, the wireless power transmitting device may determinewhether an operation change event is detected. When the operation changeevent is detected in operation 1440, the wireless power transmittingdevice may determine a patch antenna for transmission and a patchantenna for reception among the plurality of patch antennas in order toperform a second operation. In various embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the number of transmission patch antennas and the number ofreception patch antennas may be different in the first operation and thesecond operation. That is, the wireless power transmitting device mayadaptively change the number of transmission patch antennas andreception patch antennas according to various operations. In operation1450, the wireless power transmitting device may transmit thetransmission wave using the transmission patch antennas and receive thereception wave using the reception patch antennas.

For example, the wireless power transmitting device may switch fromdetecting whether the target exists to detecting at least one of thelocation and direction of the target. As described above, a higherresolution may be required to detect the location and direction of thetarget. Accordingly, the wireless power transmitting device may increasethe number of reception patch antennas.

For example, the wireless power transmitting device may switch todetecting the type or shape of the target. As described above, a higherresolution may be required to detect the type or shape of the target ascompared to detecting at least one of the location and direction of thetarget. Accordingly, the wireless power transmitting device may increasethe number of reception patch antennas.

For example, the wireless power transmitting device may switch from awireless power transmission operation to a wireless power receptionoperation. In this case, the operation change event may be a user inputfor commanding wireless power reception or a reception of a wirelesspower reception command from other electronic devices, or the like. Thewireless power transmitting device may increase the number of receptionpatch antennas to perform more efficient wireless charging. On the otherhand, when the wireless power reception operation is switched to thewireless power transmission operation, the wireless power transmittingdevice may increase the number of transmission patch antennas to performmore efficient wireless charging.

As described above, at least some of the transmission patch antennas maybe switched to reception patch antennas. A circulator may release aconnection to the input terminal of the patch antenna and connect theoutput terminal of the patch antenna and the powertransmission/reception processing circuit, so that the operation of atleast some of the patch antennas may be switched from transmission toreception. On the other hand, when reception is switched totransmission, a circulator may connect an input terminal of the patchantenna to the power transmission/reception processing circuit, andrelease a connection to the output terminal of the patch antenna.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of a method for a wireless power transmittingdevice according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 16A, 16B, 16C, and 16D illustrates a change of a patch antenna fortransmission and a patch antenna for reception according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 15, in operation 1510 the wireless power transmittingdevice may determine a patch antenna for transmission and a patchantenna for reception according to the detection operation.

For example, referring to FIG. 16A, the wireless power transmittingdevice may determine four patch antennas among 81 patch antennas as thereception patch antennas and determine the remaining patch antennas asthe transmission patch antennas. A relatively small number of patchantennas may be predetermined as reception patch antennas to detect,i.e., determine whether the target exists. In FIG. 16A, antennas thatare hatched are reception patch antennas and antennas that are stippledare transmission patch antennas.

In operation 1520, the wireless power transmitting device may transmitthe transmission wave using the transmission patch antennas and receivethe reception wave using the reception patch antennas. In operation1530, the wireless power transmitting device may determine whether thetarget is detected.

When the target is detected, in operation 1540, the wireless powertransmitting device may increase the number of at least one of receptionpatch antennas and transmission patch antennas. For example, referringto FIG. 16B, the wireless power transmitting device may increase thenumber of reception patch antennas to determine the type or shape of thetarget or to detect at least one of the location and direction of thetarget. Alternatively, referring to FIGS. 16C and 16D, the wirelesspower transmitting device may increase the number of reception patchantennas to detect the location of a dynamic target.

Referring back to FIG. 15, in operation 1550, the wireless powertransmitting device may detect at least one of the location and type ofthe target. When at least one of the location and type of the target isdetected, in operation 1560, the wireless power transmitting device mayoperate in response to at least one of the location and type of thetarget. In various embodiments of the present disclosure, the wirelesspower transmitting device may detect at least one of the location andtype of the target, using at least one of the number of patch antennasreceiving the reception wave, the location of patch antennas receivingthe reception wave, and the magnitude of the reception wave received bythe patch antenna. For example, the wireless power transmitting devicemay determine the type of the target according to the shape of thetarget. The wireless power transmitting device may determine the shapeof the target based on the result of analysis of the reflected wave, anddetermine the type of the target by comparing the shape of the targetwith the previously stored correspondence relationship between shape andtype. When it is determined that the target is the human body, thewireless power transmitting device may output a warning message. When itis determined that the type of the target is an electronic device, thewireless power transmitting device performs charging by transmitting thetransmission wave toward the target based on at least one of thelocation and direction of the detected target.

Referring to FIG. 16A, the transmission patch antennas and the receptionpatch antennas are distinguished from each other and may substantiallyoperate at the same time. Meanwhile, in various embodiments of thepresent disclosure, the wireless power transmitting device mayalternately operate transmission patch antennas and reception patchantennas according to a time division scheme. That is, during a periodfor transmitting the transmission wave, the wireless power transmittingdevice may control the transmission patch antennas to transmit the RFwave, and during a period for receiving the reception wave, the wirelesspower transmitting device may process an RF wave input to the patchantenna, so as to analyze the reception wave. In this case, thetransmission patch antennas and the reception patch antennas may bedifferent as shown in FIG. 16A, but in various embodiments, at leastsome of the patch antennas may operate as the transmission patch antennaor the reception patch antenna according to time.

FIGS. 17A, 17B, and 17C illustrates an arrangement of a patch antennafor transmission and a patch antenna for reception according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 17A, 17B, and 17C, an antenna that is hatched is apatch antenna to be operated for reception, and an antenna that isstippled is a patch antenna to be operated for transmission, and anantenna having no indication therein is configured to not performtransmission and reception operations.

Referring to FIG. 17A, transmission patch antennas and reception patchantennas are illustrated when performing the detecting of the target.Meanwhile, the wireless power transmitting device may configure some ofthe plurality of patch antennas not to perform transmission andreception. Referring to FIG. 17B, a case is illustrated where it isdetermined that the target is an object to be charged, and here, thenumber objects to be charged is one. As shown in FIG. 17B, the wirelesspower transmitting device may increase the number of the patch antennasfor transmission. For example, the wireless power transmitting devicemay increase the number of patch antennas for transmission in responseto the location of the object to be charged. Referring to FIG. 17C, acase is illustrated where it is determined that the target is an objectto be charged, and multiple objects to be charged exist. As shown inFIG. 17C, the wireless power transmitting device may increase the numberof the patch antennas for transmission. The number of patch antennas fortransmission in FIG. 17C may be configured to be greater than the numberof patch antennas in FIG. 17B, which enables power to be transmitted toa greater number of objects to be charged.

Meanwhile, in various embodiments of the present disclosure, thewireless power transmitting device may operate a patch antenna fortransmission and a patch antenna for reception according to a timedivision scheme. That is, during a period for transmitting thetransmission wave, the wireless power transmitting device may controlthe determined patch antenna for transmission so as to form the RF wave,and during a period for receiving the reception wave, the wireless powertransmitting device may process an RF wave input to the patch antenna soas to analyze the reception wave. In this case, referring to FIG. 17A,the patch antenna for transmission and the patch antenna for receptionmay be different, but in various embodiments, at least some of the patchantennas may operate as the patch antenna for transmission or the patchantenna for reception according to time.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart of a method for a wireless power transmittingdevice according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 18, in operation 1810 the wireless power transmittingdevice may determine a patch antenna for transmission and a patchantenna for reception according to the power transmission operation. Inoperation 1820, the wireless power transmitting device may transmit thetransmission wave using the patch antenna for transmission, and receivethe reception wave using the patch antenna for reception. In variousembodiments of the present disclosure, the wireless power transmittingdevice may operate such that the transmission wave to other electronicdevices is formed by some of the patch antennas while receiving an RFwave, i.e., the reception wave, by other patch antennas, from otherwireless power transmitting devices. The wireless power transmittingdevice may process a signal output from the patch antenna for receptioninto power and store the power in a battery or the like. That is, thewireless power transmitting device may perform both power transmissionand power reception. During the power transmission operation, thewireless power transmitting device may perform control so as to transmitthe transmission wave through the patch antenna for transmission.

In operation 1830, the wireless power transmitting device may determinewhether the power transmission operation changes to the power receptionoperation. When the operation change is detected, in operation 1840, thewireless power transmitting device may determine a patch antenna fortransmission and a patch antenna for reception according to the powerreception operation. Accordingly, the wireless power transmitting devicemay increase the number of patch antennas for reception. In operation1850, the wireless power transmitting device may transmit thetransmission wave using the determined patch antenna for transmission,and receive the reception wave using the determined patch antenna forreception. Alternatively, the wireless power transmitting device mayreceive only a reception wave using the determined patch antenna forreception.

FIG. 19 illustrates an arrangement of a patch antenna for transmissionand a patch antenna for reception according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 19, an antenna denoted by hatches is a patch antennato be operated for reception, and an antenna denoted by stipples is apatch antenna to be operated for transmission.

The wireless power transmitting device may configure patch antennas fortransmission among a plurality of patch antennas 1910, located in theleft part of an antenna array, to be relatively greater than patchantennas for reception. Some of the antennas on the left side of theplurality of patch antennas may form a transmission wave to transmitwireless power to other electronic devices. The wireless powertransmitting device may configure patch antennas for reception locatedin the right part of the antenna array to be relatively greater innumber than patch antennas for transmission. Some of the right part ofthe plurality of patch antennas may receive a reception wave fromanother wireless power transmitting device and output a signal.

The patch antennas for transmission and the patch antennas for receptionare distinguished from each other and may substantially operate at thesame time. Meanwhile, the wireless power transmitting device may operatea patch antenna for transmission and a patch antenna for receptionaccording to a time division scheme. That is, during a period fortransmitting the transmission wave, the wireless power transmittingdevice may control the determined patch antenna for transmission to forman RF wave, and during a period for receiving the reception wave, thewireless power transmitting device may process the RF wave input to thepatch antenna to analyze the reception wave. In this case, the patchantenna for transmission and the patch antenna for reception may bedifferent, but in various embodiments, at least some of the patchantennas may operate as the patch antenna for transmission or the patchantenna for reception according to time.

FIG. 20 illustrates a power relay operation according to an embodimentof the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 20, a first external antenna 2001 and a secondexternal antenna 2002 are formed using array antennas that include aplurality of patch antennas. The wireless power transmitting device 100may receive an RF wave 2011 formed from the first external antenna 2001.The wireless power transmitting device 100 may be separated by d1 fromthe first external antenna 2001. The wireless power transmitting device100 may store power that is acquired by processing the received RF wave2011 in a storage device 2020. The wireless power transmitting device100 may form an RF wave 2012 toward the second external antenna 2002.The wireless power transmitting device 100 may be separated by d2 fromthe second external antenna 2002. Accordingly, power from the firstexternal antenna 2001 may be relayed to the second external antenna 2002through the wireless power transmitting device 100. Although the firstexternal antenna 2001 and the second external antenna 2002 are separatedby d3 where the wireless power cannot be transmitted, the long-distancepower transmission is possible through a relay operation.

Meanwhile, the wireless power transmitting device may relay the receivedpower to another electronic device using a scheme that is different froman RF scheme (e.g., a resonant scheme or an inductive scheme). In thiscase, the wireless power transmitting device may include a structurecapable of wirelessly transmitting power using a resonant scheme or aninductive scheme, in addition to a structure for receiving wirelesspower using an RF scheme.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram of a wireless power transmitting deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 21, during power reception the patch antennas 211 to214 may receive an RF wave, convert the received RF wave into power, andoutput the power to the transmission/reception processing circuits 221to 224. The transmission/reception processing circuits 221 to 224 mayprocess the received power to be suitable for storage and output theprocessed power to a combiner 270. The combiner 270 may collect theprocessed power supplied from the transmission/reception processingcircuits 221 to 224 and output the same to a DC-DC converter 275. TheDC-DC converter 275 may convert the magnitude of the voltage of thecollected power from the combiner 270 and output the same to a charger280. The charger 280 may regulate at least one of the voltage andcurrent of the input power, and output the same to the battery 295, andthe battery 295 may perform charging using the regulated power.

FIG. 22 illustrates a circuit diagram of a wireless power transmittingdevice according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 22, a signal output from a patch antenna may befiltered through a limiter 423, and then filtered through a bandpassfilter 2210, and provided to a rectifier 2220. The rectifier 2220 mayrectify the signal input after being filtered to a DC waveform, andoutput the same to the combiner 270.

FIGS. 23A, 23B, and 23C illustrate a patch antenna of a wireless powertransmitting device according to various embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 23A, 23B, and 23C, a patch antenna 2311 may belocated at the uppermost position, and may be disposed on a substrate2310. Meanwhile, a substrate 2320 for transmission may be disposed in alower part of the substrate 2310 of the patch antenna 2311, and hardware2321 and 2322 for transmission may be disposed on the substrate 2320 fortransmission. On the other hand, a substrate 2330 for reception may bedisposed in a lower part of the substrate 2320 for transmission, andhardware 2331, 2332, and 2333 for reception may be disposed on thesubstrate 2330 for reception. On the other hand, the hardware used forboth transmitting a transmission wave and receiving a reception wave maybe divided and disposed onto the substrate 2320 for transmission and thesubstrate 2330 for reception. On the other hand, input/output terminals2441 and 2442 may be connected to the substrate 2330 for reception. Thepatch antenna 2311, the hardware 2321 and 2322 for transmission, and thehardware 2331, 2332, and 2333 for reception may be connected through avia hole, respectively, so that an integrated module in the form of atile can be implemented. FIG. 23C illustrates a cross-section of animplementation. A digital control board 2350 may be connected to a lowerpart of an integrated module 2340. As described above, thetwo-dimensional size of the entire module can be reduced, and the sizeof the entire system can be reduced.

While the present disclosure has been shown and described with referenceto various embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilledin the art that various changes in form and details may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure asdefined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A wireless power transmitting device comprising:a power source; a patch antenna; a transceiver circuit; and a processorconfigured to: control the transceiver circuit to transmit, through thepatch antenna, a first signal provided from the power source during afirst period, control the transceiver circuit to receive, through thepatch antenna, a second signal based on a reflection of the first signalduring a second period, determine whether a target device is detectedbased on the second signal, and in response to determination that thetarget device is detected, control the transceiver circuit to transmit,through the patch antenna, power to the target device, wherein the firstperiod does not overlap with the second period.
 2. The wireless powertransmitting device of claim 1, wherein the transceiver circuitcomprises a circulator, and wherein the processor is further configuredto: connect, through the circulator, the transceiver circuit to an inputterminal of the patch antenna during the first period, and connect,through the circulator, the transceiver circuit to an output terminal ofthe patch antenna during the second period.
 3. The wireless powertransmitting device of claim 1, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to determine at least one of whether the target device islocated within a power transmitting area, a position of the targetdevice, a direction of the target device, a type of the target device,and a shape of the target device based on the second signal.
 4. Thewireless power transmitting device of claim 3, wherein the processor isfurther configured to determine that the target device is located withinthe power transmitting area based on a signal output from the patchantenna at a previous time interval being different from the secondsignal, or based on a magnitude of the second signal being equal to orgreater than a predetermined threshold value.
 5. The wireless powertransmitting device of claim 1, wherein the transceiver circuitcomprises at least one of: a phase shifter configured to control phaseof the first signal and the second signal by the processor, and anattenuator configured to control magnitudes of the first signal and thesecond signal by the processor.
 6. The wireless power transmittingdevice of claim 5, further comprising: an oscillator configured tooutput a third signal; and a mixer configured to modulate the thirdsignal and demodulate the second signal, wherein the transceiver circuitfurther comprises a first switch and a second switch, and wherein theprocessor is further configured to: control the transceiver circuit toconnect, using the first switch, the third signal to at least one of thephase shifter and the attenuator during the first period, and controlthe transceiver circuit to connect, using the first switch, the secondsignal to at least one of the phase shifter and the attenuator duringthe second period, control the transceiver circuit to connect, to thepatch antenna using the second switch, a controlled signal output fromat least one of the phase shifter and the attenuator during the firstperiod, and control the transceiver circuit to connect, to the mixerusing the second switch, the controlled signal output from at least oneof the phase shifter and the attenuator during the second period.
 7. Thewireless power transmitting device of claim 6, further comprising: afirst analog-to-digital converter (ADC) configured to convert data fromthe processor into an analog signal and provide the analog signal to themixer during the first period; and a second ADC configured to convert ademodulated analog signal provided from the mixer into a digital signaland provide the digital signal to the processor during the secondperiod.
 8. A wireless power transmitting device comprising: a powersource; a plurality of patch antennas; a transceiver circuit; and aprocessor configured to: control the transceiver circuit to transmit,through a first part of the plurality of patch antennas, a first signalprovided from the power source, and control the transceiver circuit toreceive, through a second part of the plurality of patch antennas, asecond signal based on a reflection of the first signal, determinewhether a target device is detected based on the second signal, and inresponse to determination that the target device is detected, controlthe transceiver circuit to transmit, through at least a part of theplurality of patch antennas, power to the target device.
 9. The wirelesspower transmitting device of claim 8, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to: control the transceiver circuit to transmit, through thefirst part of the plurality of patch antennas, the first signal during afirst period, and control the transceiver circuit to receive, throughthe second part of the plurality of patch antennas, the second signalduring a second period, and wherein the first period does not overlapwith the second period.
 10. The wireless power transmitting device ofclaim 8, wherein the first part of the plurality of patch antennas isdifferent from the second part of the plurality of patch antennas,wherein the processor is further configured to receive, through thesecond part of the plurality of patch antennas, the second signal duringa second period, and wherein the second period is at least partiallyoverlapped with a first period when the first signal is input to thefirst part of the plurality of patch antennas.
 11. The wireless powertransmitting device of claim 8, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to determine at least one of whether the target device islocated within a power transmitting area, a position of the targetdevice, a direction of the target device, a type of the target device,and a shape of the target device based on the second signal.
 12. Thewireless power transmitting device of claim 11, wherein the processor isfurther configured to determine that the target device is located withinthe power transmitting area, based on a signal output from the secondpart of the plurality of patch antennas at a previous time intervalbeing different from the second signal, or based on the magnitude of thesecond signal being equal to or greater than a predetermined thresholdvalue.
 13. The wireless power transmitting device of claim 12, wherein,when it is determined that the target device is located within the powertransmitting area, the processor is further configured to: adjust atleast one of a number of patch antennas included in the first part ofthe plurality of patch antennas and a number of patch antennas includedin the second part of the plurality of patch antennas, control thetransceiver circuit to transmit, through the first part of the pluralityof patch antennas including the adjusted number of patch antennas, athird signal provided from the power source, control the transceivercircuit to receive, through the second part of the plurality of patchantennas including the adjusted number of patch antennas, a fourthsignal based on a reflection of the third signal, determine at least oneof a position and direction of the target device based on the fourthsignal, and determine at least one of a type of the target device and ashape of the target device based on the fourth signal.
 14. The wirelesspower transmitting device of claim 12, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to: determine that the target device is to be charged basedon a communication signal received from the target device, and determinethat the target device corresponds to an obstacle based on thecommunication signal being not received from the target device.
 15. Thewireless power transmitting device of claim 14, wherein the processor isfurther configured to: determine whether the target device correspondsto a human body, and when the target device corresponds to the humanbody, output a warning.
 16. The wireless power transmitting device ofclaim 8, wherein the processor is further configured to: in response toa first operation, set a number of the first part of the plurality ofpatch antennas and a number of the second part of the plurality of patchantennas, and in response to switching from the first operation to asecond operation, adjust at least one of the number of patch antennasincluded in the first part of the plurality of patch antennas and thenumber of patch antennas included in the second part of the plurality ofpatch antennas.
 17. The wireless power transmitting device of claim 8,wherein the processor is further configured to: after outputting thesecond signal, control the transceiver circuit to transmit, through apart of the first part of the plurality of patch antennas, a thirdsignal provided from the power source, and control the transceivercircuit to receive a fourth signal based on a reflection of the thirdsignal through the second part of the plurality of patch antennas andanother part of the first part of the plurality of patch antennas. 18.The wireless power transmitting device of claim 17, wherein thetransceiver circuit further comprises a circulator, and wherein theprocessor is further configured to: control the transceiver circuit torelease, through the circulator, a connection to an input terminal ofthe other part of the first part of the plurality of patch antennas, andcontrol the transceiver circuit to connect, through the circulator, toan output terminal of the other part of the first part of the pluralityof patch antennas.
 19. The wireless power transmitting device of claim8, wherein the transceiver circuit comprises at least one of a phaseshifter configured to control phase of the first signal and the secondsignal by the processor, and an attenuator configured to controlmagnitudes of the first signal and the second signal by the processor.20. The wireless power transmitting device of claim 19, furthercomprising: an oscillator configured to output a third signal; and amixer configured to modulate the third signal and demodulate the secondsignal, wherein the transceiver circuit further comprises a first switchand a second switch, and wherein the processor is further configured to:control the transceiver circuit to connect, using the first switch, thethird signal to at least one of the phase shifter and the attenuator, orcontrol the transceiver circuit to connect, using the first switch, thesecond signal to at least one of the phase shifter and the attenuator,control the transceiver circuit to connect, to a first patch antennausing the second switch, a controlled signal output from at least one ofthe phase shifter and the attenuator, and control the transceivercircuit to connect, to the mixer using the second switch, the controlledsignal output from at least one of the phase shifter and the attenuator.